17:05 UTC — Crypto stock declines accelerate as bitcoin slips below $80,000

Crypto ( CRCW )-related stocks were also swept lower as the selloff accelerated during the U.S. afternoon session.

Crypto ( CRCW ) exchange Coinbase (COIN) and USDC issuer Circle (CRCL) both dropped more than 6%, while bitcoin treasury firm Strategy (MSTR) and ethereum treasury company Bitmine (BMNR) slid nearly 7%.

Data center and AI infrastructure-linked names — many of them former bitcoin miners — led declines, with CleanSpark ( CLSK ) , Keel Infrastructure ( KEEL ) and MARA Holdings ( MARA ) among the hardest hit.

Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell over 2%, on track for its worst session since late March. The S&P 500 was 1% lower.

The broad-market weakness also dragged bitcoin (BTC) below the $80,000 level, down roughly 2% over the past 24 hours.

15:28 UTC — A bitcoin daily close above $82,000 could trigger rally towards $85,000

Bitcoin is trading roughly flat over the past three hours at $80,584, holding above the closely watched $80,000 support level despite a hotter-than-expected U.S. CPI reading.

Matt Mena, senior crypto research strategist at 21Shares, said bitcoin’s resilience near $81,000 signals strong market positioning even as inflation concerns persist. He pointed to several near-term catalysts that could support another move higher, including Thursday’s Senate Banking Committee markup hearing on the CLARITY Act, renewed speculation around a potential U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve announcement, and continued inflows into spot bitcoin ETFs, which have attracted more than $3.5 billion over the past six weeks.

Mena said a daily close above $82,000 could open the door to a rally toward $85,000 and potentially the $88,000-$90,000 range, while failure to break resistance alongside a hotter producer price index reading could send bitcoin back toward $75,000 support.

15:10 UTC — The copper-gold ratio is breaking out

Copper, a reliable economic indicator, is nearing record highs at $6.54.

Historically, bitcoin and copper have shown strong positive correlations, with copper rallies often preceding gains in bitcoin.

Bitcoin’s strongest rallies have also tended to coincide with a rising copper/gold ratio, which has now reached its highest level since July 2025 at 0.00140. While the ratio has broken above its 200-day moving average, an asset that rises above its 200-day moving average is generally considered to be in a long-term uptrend.

15:05 UTC — Bitcoin flat following disappointing inflation data

Core consumer prices — which would have stripped out what everyone already knew were surging energy costs — rose 0.4% in April, double March's 0.2% pace and higher than 0.3% expected by economists.

On a year-over-year basis, core CPI rose 2.8% versus 2.6% in March and 2.7% forecast.

Headline CPI — which does include energy costs — was higher by 3.8% in April versus just 3.3% in March and 3,7% expected. That 3.8% was the fastest pace of inflation since May 2023.

The data has market participants quickly pricing in Federal Reserve rate hikes — a massive change from weeks ago, when the question was how often the Fed would be cutting rates in 2026.

According to CME FedWatch, markets are seeing more than a 35% chance of one or more rate hikes this year.

The news has helped send stocks lower, led by the Nasdaq's 1.3% decline.

Bitcoin (BTC), though, has been holding steady, currently trading at $80,500, roughly flat over the past 24 hours. Major altcoins like ether (ETH) and XRP (XRP) are down closer to 2.5%.